SK Hynix targets $29.4B ADR IPO on Nasdaq in July, world's largest memory chip listing

South Korea's SK Hynix announced plans to raise 45.45 trillion won ($29.4 billion) through an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) offering on Nasdaq, targeting July 10, 2026. The deal would rank among the top 5 IPOs of all time, comparable to Saudi Aramco's 2019 record. The memory chipmaker will issue 17.79 million new shares, with 10 ADRs equivalent to one common share.

SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker and dominant supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to NVIDIA and Alphabet, has seen its stock surge over 300% this year on AI-driven demand. The company became South Korea's most valuable listed company on June 24, surpassing Samsung Electronics for the first time in around 26 years. Proceeds will fund fabs in Yongin and Cheongju and purchase fab equipment including Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) scanners.

The listing reflects structural demand for memory chips—HBM remains a bottleneck in AI accelerator buildouts and SK Hynix has told investors demand will likely exceed supply into next year. A Nasdaq listing positions SK Hynix alongside US-listed peer Micron and exposes the company to US-mandated institutional investors who treat memory chips as AI-critical infrastructure rather than cyclical commodities, likely supporting valuation uplift.